Activated carbon from synthetic petroleum coke

The production of activated carbon from synthetic fluid petroleum coke was investigated. A simple two-step pyrolysis/activation procedure was found to be sufficient to convert raw fluid coke and potassium treated fluid coke into activated cokes with properties comparable to commercial grade activated carbon.;The activated carbon produced was found to have adsorptive capacities 20 to 50 times greater than raw fluid coke and roughly one quarter of the adsorptive capacity of the best commercial grade activated carbon. The activated coke has the ability to adsorb large molecular molecules, light hydrocarbons and ions from a liquid stream. The adsorptive capacity is attributable to the large surface area and porosity developed from the activation.;Potassium treatment was observed to increase the rate of carbon conversion by steam activation which in turn developed more microporosity than the untreated coke. However, faster carbon conversion did not lead to higher surface areas due to excessive carbon loss and ash poisoning of the coke surface. The untreated activated coke had the highest surface area and correspondingly the highest adsorptive capacity for large organic molecules such as methylene blue dye; however both the potassium and untreated coke had the same adsorptive capacity for aqueous iodine.;Scanning electron microscopy revealed a novel mechanism of activation. The physical structure of the fluid coke along with its reaction to the pyrolysis/activation caused a density change which initially leads to tension cracking of the coke particle. Activation then proceeded into the interior of the coke particle where it migrated along highly reactive contact surfaces present as concentric spheres. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).